Forbidden

The Queen was rage in human form. Swallowed by the emotion, it writhed under her skin, using the outer shell to conceal all. The Captain had not noticed it yet, but Adriana could feel it radiating from her. She had seen her return late last night, had helped her change her clothing. For once, the Queen had climbed in to her bed, although Adriana doubted that she had done much sleeping. Her brain had never shut off long enough for her to rest properly.

Adriana glanced at the Queen again, trying to detect signs of exhaustion but, as usual, there were none. The Captain of the Guard had been fidgeting in front of her for several minutes now, and there had been no communication. The Queen was waiting for his nerve to break.

"Your Majesty, might I ask why you have called me here?" Ah, there it is. Adriana braced herself; waiting for the anger to break free of that indifferent shell, and form itself in to a killer. Instead, the Queen merely glanced at the Captain, and then gestured for Silver, who had been hiding in the shadows, to come forward.

"Her Majesty and I came across something extra-ordinarily odd last night Captain. A group of men, talking of treason."

"T-Treason?" The Captain spluttered, glancing at the Queen again, who had turned her narrowed eyes on him.

"Yes, Captain." Everyone froze as the Queen spoke. It was slow, dripping with disdain, and the air seemed to hang thick with her words even when the silence fell.

"What would you have me do, my Queen?" The Captain croaked, as though he himself had just been accused of the crime.

"Nothing, for now," Silver continued, when the Queen gave him a look. "We need to develop a plan of action. My contact can get us information, but we need to be aware that this group could become dangerous if whoever is in charge decides to try harder at killing her Majesty."

"Well of course we can double the guard and make more regular patrols?"

"A good start." Silver shrugged. "But I have a feeling that whoever is behind this may have more up their sleeves."

"The girl." Everyone stared at the Queen again as she spoke. She was looking at Silver, her eyebrow raised. "They said there was a girl."

Adriana watched Silver, but he remained without reaction. A clear sign that he was hiding something. The Queen had not asked a direct question, and so he was able.

"Yes your Majesty. I heard that as well."

The Queen's eyes narrowed.

"Did you see a girl?"

"Yes, your Majesty." The others in the room stared at him in disbelief. "I did."

The Queen actually sighed. Sighed. Silver found himself floating towards her, and did not resist. Adriana swallowed, knowing what was to come. Torture. She wished that she was not there.

"Ssssssilver," the Queen hissed against his ear. "Why would you allow her to go free?"

"She was no threat your Majesty. Not even a knife. She was just there to learn."

"I could have learned from her." Her talon-like rings traced down his chest, pausing over his heart as if she meant to claw out his heart. "You were not supposed to be weak." She let him fall to the floor, and Silver knelt in front of her, awaiting the pain that he desired. "Your punishment… you will not hurt yourself, or allow others to do so unless it is impossible to stop them. You will not be allowed that… sweet release you crave." Her dark lips split to reveal white teeth in an evil grin. "And you will never again allow anyone like that to leave without bringing them to me first. Understood?"

Silver nodded, the distress clear in his eyes. She released his throat, and swirled around, marching out of the throne room and leaving them all to stare after her in shock.